Warm weather and half-term tempts shoppers back to the high street
The number of shoppers in retail destinations rose by 11.6 per cent last week, with a combination of warm weather, a bank holiday and half-term tempting punters back to the high street.
The number of shoppers on the high street rose by 17.4 per cent last week, according to the latest data from Springboard, while footfall in shopping centres and in retail parks rose a more modest 8.7 and 2.3 per cent respectively.
Coastal and historical towns saw the biggest uplift, up 37.1 and 24.8 per cent respectively, though city centres also saw a boost, with footfall in Central London up 23.8 per cent.
However, the number of people in Central London is still down significantly from the same period in 2019, with footfall down 39.5 per cent.
Springboard insight director Diane Wehrle said: “A combination of the late May bank holiday, incredible weather and the school half term holiday had a hugely beneficial effect on customer activity in UK retail destinations last week; it not only led to the greatest weekly increase in footfall since the reopening of non-essential retail in April, but also the most modest annual decline since the start of the pandemic.”
Wehrle said staycations had fuelled an increase in footfall in coastal towns, while the warm weather made for a particularly good week for the high street, where people could spend time outside.